US-based Hub Labels has installed MPS EF 430 printing press for linerless labels application, becoming the second company in the country to offer this solution to the customers.
Image: The MPS EF press installed at Hub Labels. Photo: courtesy of MPS Systems B.V.
Hub Labels, which has been producing linerless labels for the US market since 2009, said that linerless labels provide self-adhesive labeling with improved efficiencies, volume applications and environmental advantages.
The company offers standard linerless labels in silicone coated paper, board or synthetic materials.
Label facestocks are supplied without liners as the semi-adhesive label format partially adheres to a pack through glue strips. This leads to a 40% reduction in reel weight, less storage area and fewer reel changeovers.
Earlier in 2018, the company decided to invest in MPS EF 430, the first MPS line of the company, and the printer was installed at the Hub Labels facility in Maryland in February.
Linerless label technology avoids the liner used with traditional pressure-sensitive labels.
The MPS EF, an automated multi-substrate flexographic press, has been designed to print labels and flexible packaging on various substrates.
The addition of the new printer provides Hub Labels with flexibility to print a range of substrates such as thin film, paper, shrink sleeves and flexible packaging.
The flexo printing press is used for the production of linerless labels and self-adhesive labels.
Hub Labels president Thomas Dahbura said: “MPS and the Hub Labels teams collaborated months before the actual installation of the press. We reviewed out timelines and clearly communicated our expectations to each other.
“We had the press shipped to us from overseas and ran into some delays caused by a winter storm, but both MPS and Hub Labels were flexible and reacted professionally to the delay. MPS worked more than 12 hours a day to get back on track and finish on schedule.”
MPS Systems North America area sales manager Michael Weyermann said: “We are glad to see that Hub Labels was convinced by the MPS quality and the flexibility of the EF press. This press offers them new capabilities in the high-speed production of various substrates, especially the production of sustainable, environmentally friendly linerless labels.”